With Rendon at 3B, trio to share time at 2B

MIAMI -- With Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman out for a lengthy period of time because of a right hamstring injury, manager Matt Williams said he will not hand the job to anyone at second base.

The job had belonged to Anthony Rendon, but he is now the everyday third baseman. Williams has decided that three players -- Danny Espinosa, Zach Walters and Kevin Frandsen -- will split time at second base.

"It's going to be a daily thing. If we get to a point where somebody gets hot, we'll certainly ride the hot hand," Williams said. "But we still have to look at it day by day."

Espinosa received the start against the Marlins on Monday night because Williams liked the way Espinosa looked at the plate against the Reds the previous day. Espinosa went 1-for-4 with a run scored in the Nationals' 4-2 victory at Cincinnati. His leadoff single in the fifth sparked a three-run inning against Reds right-hander Mat Latos.

"I liked the way Danny played [Sunday]," Williams said. "He hit three balls right on the button. Yesterday, he was a lot calmer at the plate. So I liked that. We certainly appreciate his defense as well. He played well yesterday, he feels good about it. We put him in the lineup today."

Werth day to day with sprained right ankle

MIAMI -- Right fielder Jayson Werth was not on the field when the Nationals lost a heartbreaker to the Marlins, 7-6, in the ninth inning Monday night. Werth left the game in the seventh inning because of a sprained right ankle. He is listed as day to day.

Werth is hoping that he can play in Tuesday's game against Miami.

In the top of the seventh inning with the Nationals leading, 6-0, and right-hander Sam Dyson on the mound, Werth hit a leadoff single near the right-field line. Werth tried to stretch it into a double and was thrown out by right fielder Giancarlo Stanton.

"I like to be an aggressive baserunner," Werth said after the game. "I felt when [Stanton] cut the ball off, which was a surprise, I still thought it was going to take a perfect throw. He made a perfect throw. … I would take that chance tomorrow if I had the opportunity."

After Werth slid awkwardly into second base, he was seen limping back into the dugout. He was replaced by Nate McLouth in right field to open the bottom of the inning.

"I won't know [how bad it is] until I wake up tomorrow," Werth said. "It will probably be a little sore. I'm going to try to play. I expect to play, but it could be sore.

"It's one of those things. The first time you sprain your ankle, it's the worst. ... I wasn't real sure at first. I wasn't feeling a whole lot better right away. They got me out of there to get some ice on it. Hopefully, I'll be available tomorrow."

Zimmerman continues to rest ailing hamstring

MIAMI -- Nationals manager Matt Williams still doesn't know how long Ryan Zimmerman will be out after injuring his right hamstring last week against the Rockies.

Zimmerman was scheduled to see the team doctor on Monday. Williams did say that all Zimmerman has done is rest the hamstring.

"There is still no activity, so we may have something after the game, certainly [Tuesday] when we get here. We'll see what the doctor thinks," Williams said. "He has a pulled hammy and he is not doing anything strength-wise at this point. So it's just kind of a checkup."

It sounds like Zimmerman will not be back until at least September. As Zimmerman said last week, he is not going to rush to get back on the field.